Radio-opaque marking strip for internal bleeding markers



Feb. 7, 1967 M. w. MAZELLAN 3,302,637

RADIO-OPAQUE MARKING STRIP FOR INTERNAL BLEEDING MARKERS Filed June 5, 1965 C RADIO-O PAQUE PLASTIC STRIP MEIAL FOIL COVER SIR-13) iO a" i8\ .WEFT THREADS F Ki 6 F l 6.7 INVENTOR.

MYRON W. MAZELLAN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,302,637 RADIO-{BPAQUE MARKING STRIP FOR INTERNAL BLEEDING MARKERS Myron W. Mazeilan, 517 Miiltown Road, North Brunswick, NJ. 08846 Filed June 3, 1965, Ser. o. 461,676 3 Claims. (Cl. 128-2) This invention relates to a radio-opaque marking strip to be used in devices for marking internal bleeding in the gastro-intestinal tract of patients. More specifically, it deals with a flexible one-piece radio-opaque strip, which may be of thin metal, plastic-coated metal, or plastic or rubber loaded with barium sulfate, or other suitable radioopaque filler, and carrying distance indicia as an integral part of the strip. Such indicia may be indentations and/ or protrusions at the side or sides of said strip, or in the center portion thereof.

A typical string, for marking internal bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, is described in the Haynes and Pittman US. Patent No. 3,097,636. This string consists of two long fabric or textile tapes, sewn together at the edges, and having disposed between the tapes a continuous vertical monofilament of plastic loaded with a radio-opaque filler, such as barium sulfate. This monofilament is heat-sealed or glued onto the inner surface of one of the tapes. Horizontal marker strips of the same material are laid across the vertical monofilament at regular intervals, and are heat-sealed or glued onto the tape. These horizontal monofilament strips are laid, say, every 2 inches along the length of the vertical monofilament, so that, when the string is swallowed and an X-ray photograph is taken, the bleeding (as observed on the string after it is removed from the patient) then can be oriented and located on the picture thereby.

Another internal bleeding marking device is described in the Pittman application Serial No. 310,113, filed on September 19, 1963. In this device, a semi-rigid plastic tube is used as the core, which is retained in the string between two sewn tapes. A monofilament radio-opaque marker, such as that of the cited patent, is attached to the inside of one tape, or onto the outside of the tube.

Inflatable plastic tubes encased in fabric also have been proposed as bleeding marking devices, and such devices also may be used with the markers of the present invention.

In the manufacture of these aforesaid devices, it has been found that the placing and attaching of the horizontal monofilament marker pieces have required con siderable time. Also, it has been found that such horizontal markers sometimes become displaced while the cement is still wet.

According to the present invention, a marking strip is provided which is not subject to displacement or ready removal, and which is readily applied to the device without time-consuming care and effort. The strip incorporates integrally both the vertical and horizontal markers in one piece. It comprises a flexible narrow strip of thin metal, or plastic-coated metal, or of plastic or rubber, or other suitable material, loaded with a radio-opaque marker, such as barium sulfate. A dark colored (e.g., black) filler may be added to the plastic for ready visible identification.

When the strip is made of metal (which, by itself, is radio-opaque) the strip may be of thin aluminum, tin, gold, silver or other type of foil, although preferably, the strip is of plastic coated foil, such as the monofilament employed in metallized fabrics. The plastic strip, which must be loaded with radio-opaque filler, may be made by extrusion, stamping, molding, die-cutting, or the like.

ice

The invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred embodiment is disclosed and wherein FIGURE 1 depicts a front view of an upper portion of a flat marker strip. FIGURE 2 illustrates a :front view of an upper portion of a round plastic marker strip which can be used as a substitute for a semi-rigid tube, as well. FIGURE 2a also presents a side view portion, with upper part torn open, of a textile covering for the marker strip of FIG- URE 2, as used therewith. FIGURE 3 depicts a front view of a flat marker strip having a different form of indicia, while FIGURE 3.: depicts a side view of the strip of FIGURE 3, as used in a tape-covered string, which also includes a semi-rigid tube. A cross-sectional view taken along the plane of line 44 of FIGURE 1 is shown in FIGURE 4, while FIGURE 5 shows a similar view taken along the plane of line 55 in FIGURE 2. FIG- URE 6 illustrates a front view of a metal foil marker strip having indented or notched indicia. FIGURE 7 shows a front view of a strip of the present invention, as braided into the cloth used in device to indicate bleeding. FIGURE 8 shows a front view of a strip having inner-disposed indicia. The same numerals refer to similar parts in the various figures.

Referring again to the drawing and particularly to FIG- URE 1, numeral 19 represents a thin narrow strip of flexible plastic or rubber (unstretched) carrying black pigment, such as carbon, and enough radio-opaque filler, such as barium sulfate, to make the string show up clearly in X-ray photographs. Projecting from the sides of strip 16, at regular intervals, say 2" apart, are rounded projections 11. These project sufficiently far away from vertical strip 10 to be distinguished clearly in X-ray photographs. At regular intervals, say every 6", 10", or 12" the projections 11 are substituted by longer rounded projections 12. These are used for counting the length of strip 1% up to the critical bleeding area, where the shorter horizontal projections 11 are employed to pin point the bleeding area more accurately. It is to be understood that both the vertical strip and the horizontal projections may have any shape desired, such as semiround, square, triangular, rectangular, or the like. Such a marking strip may be sewn between two braided or woven tapes 14 and 15, as in FIGURE 2a, or conventional cotton fabric tapes, such as those described in Patent 3,097,636, may be used.

The marker strip can have barb-shaped horizontallydirected projections on one side or staggered alternately along strip 1% as in FIGURE 3, whereas, at the longer indicia marks, the barbs 12 may extend from both sides of strip 10, and possibly be larger as well. In this case, strip 10 is disposed alongside a semi-rigid plastic tube or rod 13. Around both, is woven, knitted, or braided a textile cover 16a, as in FIGURE 3a.

A valuable marker which has been found easier to make and assemble and which has many advantages over other strings, is depicted in FIGURE 2. Here, a rodshaped strip 10', of circular (or cylindrical) cross-section, is extruded. The extruder is stopped or slowed down at regular intervals to form a head 11" projecting from strip 10. By stopping the extruder for a slightly longer period, it is possible to produce a wider circular bead or rib 12" for the longer length markers. Although the stopping of the extruder is one way of producing these beads, other methods, well known in the art, also may be used. Strip 10' then is disposed or sewn between two tapes l4 and 15, and the tapes are sewn together at outer edges 16. It will be noted that strip Ill has the semi-rigidity of the otherwise additional tube or rod 13, and yet it also serves as the radio-opaque marker, so that it eliminates considerable effort and expense, and makes a more compact and efficient string.

If desired, string or 10 may be heat sealed ontO one of the tapes, or cemented thereto. Or, when made in narrow form, it may be woven into or simply placed alongside the tape during the manufacture thereof. Or, it may be sewn onto the tape, as desired. Also, it is possible to insert the strip inside of a semi-rigid tube 13. It will be understood that the term plastic employed herein shall include plastics, such as polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, fluoropolymer, and the like, as well as natural rubbers and synthetic rubbers.

As stated previously, the marker strips of the present invention may be made of rubber in the unst-retched condition, in which case, when they are sewed on to the tape or inserted between the two tapes, there would be no stretching involved, so that the distance between the horizonal markers would remain constant. In the case of the rod of FIGURE 2, it is desirable to make it semirigid as to flexibility, the rigidity being such that the rod strip is able to easily bend through and around the upper abdominal C-loop, and yet is not too limp as to double up in the intestines.

The marker strip of the present invention may :be braided or otherwise woven into the textile when the textile is made. For example, marker strip 10a (FIG- URE 7), having protruding length-indicating indicia 10a and 10"(1, is substituted for some of the Warp threads during braiding of the textile, and weft threads 17 are permitted to cross over the strip and embody the strip as a component of the textile 16b. The textile then may be used as a covering over a semi-rigid tube, such as tube 13, for example. Or, the textile 16b may be used in the form of a tape, as heretofore outlined.

Although protruding length indicia have been described, it is to be understood that indented indicia also may be employed, as in FIGURE 6. Here, a flexible plastic-coated metal foil strip 101), of, say 0.005" to 0.010 thickness, may be provided with equally-spaced notches 18, serving as distance or length indicia. For the longer indicia, the notches may be made on both sides of the strip, such as notches 18'. Such a strip may be interwoven into a textile, as in the case of strip 10a, or used in a manner similar to the other marker strips already described. Strip 1% also may be applied to a freshly-extruded semi-rigid tube, and allowed to attach strongly thereto upon cooling, when such marked tube may be used in a manner similar to tube 13, but without the adjacent strip 10.

A suitable strip of the present invention may be a 30 inch or inch length of vulcanized synthetic rubber of very little elasticity having a width of about to about Vs", and a thickness of about 0.02 to about $452" The shorter horizontal projections may be about /4 to wide, while the larger horizontal projections may be about 71 .2 to A" wide. In the case of the semi-rigid rod strip, the round rod may have a diameter of about to about /6", or more, with horizontal projections of /32 and A, respectively.

The term woven employed herein is intended to include braided, knitted, and other forms of textiles. Also, when the term tube is employed herein, it is to be understood to be synonymous with the term rod.

The indicia employed may consist of notches, protrusions and slots of any desired form or shape, such as round, square, triangular, rectangular, oval, and the like, regardless of Whether they are disposed at the sides of the strip, as in FIGURES 1-7, or within the area of the strip, as in FIGURE 8, in which the smaller indicia 19 are small circles, while the larger indicia 20 are rectangles.

I claim:

1. A string device for locating internal bleeding, as described, comprising:

a semi-rigid plastic tube,

a textile cover disposed over said tube,

a narrow elongated flexible radio-opaque marker strip attached to the outside of the cover, and

a series of distance indicia serving as an integral part of said strip and disposed at the sides thereof.

2. A string device, according to claim 1, wherein said strip is sewn onto the cover.

3. A string device, according to claim 1, wherein said strip is interwoven in said cover textile axially with respect to said tube.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,097,636 7/1963 Haynes et al. 128-2 3,155,091 11/1964 Nissenbaum 1282 3,217,705 11/1965 Billings 1282 ROBERT E. MORGAN, Acting Primary Examiner.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Examiner.

S. BRODER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A STRING DEVICE FOR LOCATING INTERNAL BLEEDING, AS DESCRIBED, COMPRISING: A SEMI-RIGID PLASTIC TUBE, A TEXTILE COVER DISPOSED OVER SAID TUBE, A NARROW ELONGATED FLEXIBLE RADIO-OPAQUE MARKER STRIP ATTACHED TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE COVER, AND A SERIES OF DISTANCE INDICIA SERVING AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF SAID STRIP AND DISPOSED AT THE SIDES THEREOF. 